Madeline (original special)
Madeline is a 1988 Canadian-American animated television special directed by Judy Rothman, and produced Cinar (later Cookie Jar Entertainment) and DiC Entertainment (both were eventually merged with DHX Media and neither of them individually exist because of it), that aired on April 9, 1988 on HBO. The special is largely based off the first Madeline book, and gave many other of the twelve little girls individual personalities. The special was released onto VHS in 1990 by Hi-Tops Video, and has been released onto other VHS compilations by Golden Books Family Entertainment in during the 1990's. In recent years, it has been released onto DVD compilations, released most noticeably on "Bonjour, Madeline - The Original Specials" in 2013. Plot The special begins in the evening with the narrator introducing the Boarding School in Paris, the Twelve little girls and Ms. Clavel. Parallel to the book, the girls break their bread, brush their teeth and go to bed. After putting the girls to sleep Ms. Clavel leaves and the girls have a friendly pillow fight. It gets quite chaotic before the girls are scared by a monster. It is revealed to be Madeline using shadow puppetry. The girls eventually go to sleep, all in agreement that Madeline is the best prankster among them. The next day the girls are out for a walk. They stop to be entertained by a local street performing clown. Madeline offers her hat for the clown to balance on while juggling. Later the girls witness a police officer arresting a burglar and frown in disgust at the criminal. Later still, during a light snowfall, the girls encounter a wounded soldier. They give him their balloons to make him feel better. The next day, the narrator establishes the girls' daily walks. They leave the house every day at half past nine regardless of the weather. While most of the girls are well behaved, Madeline often breaks away from her place in line when she sees something interesting and becomes imaginative. Ms. Clavel resolves to carry her for the rest of the walk, everyone laughs playfully. Madeline meets the two mice who live in the walls of the school. While the other girls are scared, Madeline adopts the tiny creatures as pets. The scene transitions to winter and Madeline showcases her iceskating skills. She befriends a snowman (who may or may not be real). The scene transitions back to a warmer season at the zoo. The other girls are quite scared of an aggressive tiger, but Madeline bravely says, "Pooh Pooh" to the beast. Later as the girls are crossing a footbridge over the River Seine, Madeline runs up on the rampart, terrifying Ms. Clavel. Madeline imagines herself flying a small propellor plane over the city of Paris, seeing all the Parisian landmarks. As she lands back on the bridge and returns to reality, Ms. Clavel gently pulls her back down onto the footpath. Sometime later it's winter and the girls are out for a walk. Strangely, Madeline seems fatigued and upset. She seems disinterested in all of the things that usually make her happy despite encouragement from all her friends. She doesn't want to skate, she doesn't enjoy the zoo and she eventually has to be carried home by Ms. Clavel, who assumes she simply stayed up late the night previously. At dinner, Madeline has lost her appetite and discretely gives her food to her mice pets. That night after the girls have gone to bed Ms. Clavel wakes up sensing something is wrong. She rushes in fear to check on the girls. She finds them trying to comfort Madeline who is crying in pain. Ms. Clavel calls the local physician Dr. Cohn who immidiately rides over on bike to examine Madeline. He then calls the hospital, diagnosing Madeline with appendicitis. An ambulance arrives and Dr. Cohn takes Madeline to the hospital. The other girls and Ms. Clavel weep in sadness and fear. The next day the other girls wonder if Madeline is okay and debate what an appendix is. Meanwhile Madeline has a successful surgery to remove her appendix. She spends the next ten days recovering, enjoying the tranquility of the local hospital as the spring arrives. However in her absence, the girls become disorganized and forgetful of their daily routines, to the point of which they are using their toothbrushes on their bread. Ms. Clavel resolves to take them to visit Madeline at the hospital. The girls take a bus to a local market where they buy flowers and a stuffed tiger for Madeline. At the hospital they are impressed by the toys, candy and dollhouse sent to Madeline by her family. Ms. Clavel leaves the room to speak with Dr. Cohn about Madeline's eventual return to the school. Madeline enjoys the tiger present before showing the scar from her appendicitis surgery to the girls, impressing them even further. The girls and Ms. Clavel soon depart the hospital. On the bus ride home the girls become envious of Madeline's time off from school. At home, they go through their normal evening routines, albeit with much less enthusiasm. Later that night after the girls have gone to bed, Ms. Clavel wakes up again and senses something is wrong. She again rushes to the girls bedroom, afraid of a much worse disaster. To her relief, she finds that the other girls simply want to have the same operation as Madeline. She laughingly, but kindly tells them they are in good health and that it's time to go to bed. The narrator concludes the tale by saying, "And that's all there is, there isn't anymore." Before the credits roll, Madeline appears one last time to give a wink to the audience. Differences from the Book * The other 11 girls are each given more personality, with Chloe, Nicole, Danielle and Yvette having spoken lines. * Madeline's hair is different from the books. * More French phrases are used throughout the special, both to build the world and serve as an educational opportunity for the audience. * Madeline slides down the banister instead of taking the stairs in the school. * The fourth wall is broken as the 12 girls introduce themselves to the audience. * The girls say grace before eating dinner. "We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all, we love each other." * Madeline pranks the girls and Ms. Clavel by pretending to choke on her dinner. She also incorrectly brushes her teeth, prompting Ms. Clavel to correct her. * The girls have a pillow fight after being put to bed. Madeline then pranks them using shadow puppets. * They smile at a friendly street performing clown rather than a woman feeding a horse. * The magician does not appear in the background. * The girls give the wounded soldier their balloons. * The clocktower bells are used to frame the girls as they leave the house. * Madeline and the Girls sing "I'm Madeline" while imagining themselves on a number of adventures (at the circus and climbing mountains) all while Ms. Clavel is trying to keep them in line. * An anthropomorphic snowman appears in the winter scenes. * When Madeline scares Ms. Clavel while crossing the Seine, she imagines flying across the Parisian skyline in a propellor aircraft similar to Snoopy and the Red Barron. * There is an extended sequence in the winter leading up to Madeline's appendicitis which makes it very clear that Madeline is not feeling well despite encountering all the things that she normally enjoys. * Madeline is never fitted for new clothes. * The mice appear a second time during this sequence. * The mice appear a third time when a sick Madeline gives them her dinner. * Ms. Clavel sings "Something is Not Right" when rushing to the Girls' bedroom. * The girls fret over Madeline's absence and discuss in childish ignorance what appendicitis is. * It's officially stated that Madeline's appendix is removed. * Madeline asks the nurse to bring her mice, scaring the poor woman. * The girls' daily routine is severely disrupted without Madeline. "They frowned at the good, they smiled at the bad, they didn't know when to be happy or sad." * The girls sing a song when going to visit Madeline. * Extended sequence of the girls searching for a present for Madeline along with flowers and a vase. * Ms. Clavel leaves the hospital room to speak with Dr. Cohn. * The girls play with a stuffed tiger they bought Madeline. * Madeline sings "Voila, My Scar." * The girls brew over Madeline's perceived fortune to be out of school, in bed with toys, candy and a dollhouse. * Ms. Clavel sings a reprise of "Something is not Right" when rushing to the Girls' bedroom. * The girls make elaborate decorations on their stomachs to mimic appendix scars. * Madeline winks to the audience via an iris-in, breaking the fourth wall again. Foreign Language French * The Girls say, "Bonjour" (Hello) to introduce themselves to the audience. * The Girls say, "Bonne Nuit" (Good night) to Ms. Clavel. She responds, "Bonne Nuit mes Enfants" (Good night my children). * Nicole says, "Mon Dieu" (My God) in fear when seeing the shadow. * Madeline says, "Bonjour Monsieur" (Hello Sir) and "Merci" (Thank you) to the friendly clown. * Madeline sings, "Alors" (Well then), "Encore" (Again), and "Regardez" (Look) during Fly Air Madeline. * Madeline says, "Non non pardon" (No no, sorry) when she is sick and can't skate. * Madeline says, "Oui Oui" (Yes yes) to Ms. Clavel to let her know she's okay. * Madeline says, "S'il vous plait" (Please) when asking the nurse to bring her mice. * Ms. Clavel says, "Mes Petite" (My little ones) when they are going to the hospital. * Madeline sings "Voila" (Here it is), "Tres Chic" (Very classy) when during Viola My Scar. Trivia *In later animated Madeline products, some of the other little girls were given darker skin complexions. *While both Cinar and DiC Entertainment produced the special, the Hi-Tops Video VHS release only credits it to DiC Entertainment, while some others only credit it to Cinar. *This special acts as the TV series's pilot episode. Category:Episodes